Review: Publisher Shares Essays in Latest Book!

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God and Evolution or
 Evolvement:


Essays Into the 21st
 Century


By Adolph (Adolfo) Caso




When a publisher chooses to write essays regarding issues about which he is passionate, you can bet he will have written from a solid base of research. An essay, however, lends an opportunity to voice his own opinions as well, and when brought together into one book, allows his readers a much more satisfying experience in knowing the publisher, the author, as an individual as well as a scholar.

I had read several of the essays as they had been included as introductions to other books published by Branden Books, but many were new and on topics that also interested me. What I found most serendipitous however was that my stack to review had two books, one right after the other, in queue. The first book, I have previously reviewed--A Higher Court:One Man's Search for the Truth of God's Existence by John L. Betcher.

Now, here was Adolfo Caso, a man I have come to know and respect greatly, writing on God, Evolution or Evolvement, Galileo, Machiavelli, Salvation and so much more that was covered in the earlier book. Quite interesting to me was that both authors seemed to share their hesitancy in dealing with the issue that it all comes down to--Faith. Indeed Adolfo, in being willing to not only publish his title Essay, but also shares that the Essay had been shared, rejected, some with ridicule...by friends...is actually, to me, quite willing to say that he stands by this particular Essay. I thought it important to include the last sentence of this essay:

Ultimately, each one of us will find it in one single, monosyllabic three-letter word describing, depicting, or denoting GOD! (p. 151)

In both of these books, I found a learned man--one a lawyer, one a publisher and scholar. Each of these men had created a book they felt needed to be published. I, on the other hand, have read and reviewed books by agnostics, atheists as well as men from various religions. who were sharing their beliefs. Would you believe that many of the arguments, be they scientific or not, are very similar?

So we have many individuals, asking the same questions! Many reach one point, however, and I believe the above statement is in the way in which they describe...their faith. There is a God.

Many of the Essays written by Adolfo deal with ethical issues. At the same time, it is also clear that Adolfo has a deep and great love for his heritage, so much so that when something is questioned, such as the validity of claiming that Columbus discovered America, there is evidence of extensive research to not only prove the great things done by Italians and Italian-Americans, by to disprove those speaking against the truth.

His essay on Machiavelli, What He Means to Me is an excellent example of how historical individuals are sometimes treated. Adolfo says, "In a recent conversation, in Italian, this well-educated medical doctor used the name of Machiavelli as a synonym for intrigues of unsavory nature." (p. 75). Now, thanks to Branden Books, I have read The Prince.  You guessed right. In my opinion, having read Machiavelli's actual words, his image has been totally corrupted. In his Essay, therefore, Adolfo one again shares about the virtue of this important historical figure.

But Caso has not limited his thoughts to history. He writes about the important issue of bilingual education and states a much more realistic approach than is happening today. He talks about mass media, wealthy voters, and raises significant ethical questions that should and must be considered if we are to regain our position as world leaders.

I encourage you to check out the Essay topics on the back of this book and read his powerful poetry about today's world, one of the most powerful being The New Adam and Eve. It is time to read about today's issues from an ethical man that is willing to speak out...write about...those issues that tell the truth, not for political reasons, but...just because it is the truth... And if he includes statements of faith, as well, then we can know that he has read, researched and digested much, before that step was taken. For those of you who have humanitarian concerns about today's world...I highly recommend this and other books by Adolph Caso.

Book Provided by
Branden Books

GABixlerReviews

Review: One Man's Search...Could Also Be Yours...

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Religion - No Religion in US

A Higher Court:


One Man's Search for the Truth of God's Existence


By John L. Betcher












As a reader, I always chose books I wanted to read; as a reviewer, however, I began to read books that I might not ever have considered. At another time, I will write about some of those. For now, I would admit that if I had not been asked, I would not have bought A Higher Court.


Why? Just because I had already read so many and I already had the answer:

I know that I know that I know God's Lives. Note that I don't say that He exists. I knew that as a child. But then life begins and you learn and experience and for some, we used the words, we are born again. John L. Betcher did, however, create a superbly imaginative approach to this ages old question. He introduces us to William Kensey.

Perhaps Kensey is a peer of the author, who is also an attorney. Or perhaps they went to the same church or worked on some of the same cases, as opposing counsel. It might even be possible that William Kensey is a fictitious name by which the author is sharing his own story. It really doesn't matter.

If you are still asking the question, does God Exist, as millions today are still asking, then A Higher Court is an exciting, innovative story that I highly recommend to you.

Perhaps, however, you do accept God exists, but you've never been able to understand the "why" of things--why is there so much pain, why so many natural disasters, why this person or that person died so young, why do people do such hurtful things if they believe in God... In my opinion there is also much to learn from this book.

Or, you may be devout and very active in your church--committed to the beliefs taught only in that institution and you have no interest in interacting or reading about the beliefs of others. To you, I would encourage the book as a must-read.

For, you see, William Kensey, a successful trial attorney, has been asked to serve on a jury. A jury that will finally decide whether God exists. By the time he begins to really accept that he will be on the other side of the jury box, he is there, watching a case handled like no other. Rules that are normally followed are totally ignored--the jury is larger for one thing. And they seem to have been preselected. Even more interesting is the environment--most of the trial is conducted in the dark, with spotlights used only to designate the lawyer and his witness, the judge; sometimes there is an entire scene, such as when a woman is giving birth, to which the jury has become a witness to the births (twins).

The main thing that is different, though, is that the jury is sent into deliberation during the trial and so the individual jurists are encourage to meet and discuss the evidence being presented.

As you would expect, one advantage of the book is that both sides of the argument are presented. Many of the books I have read present only one side so that you are forced to either agree or disagree with the author. Here, expert witnesses are provided as are witnesses that have personal opinions about the question. Actually, you might find yourself as one of the characters--or, like me, you will see that you have "slices" of those thoughts that you can remember from your own life. In fact, William Kensey found that he was perhaps more on the fence than he had realized...

And, if you read my review carefully, you will note that I somewhat contradict my own position. I believe, but I still have those questions that so many have: Why was my father killed before I was born, Why would men within a religious institution become abusive to children and others...and so on. God gave us an intellect to seek information, and we perhaps will always ask why. But William Kensey? Well, let's just say that the ending was something that was different from what I expected--quite different. So different that it is that which will remain with me. And it is for that ending, I thank John L. Betcher.

There are not many in the United States that openly state that they are not religious (according to the above map). But, many of us know, being religious, is not necessarily the answer we are searching for. If you have a small percentage, a slice of doubt or much that bothers you about accepting God exists, then I believe A Higher Court could be a challenge for you. Are you willing to serve on the jury?

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On Evolution and Evolvement

On Evolution and Evolvement

By Adolph Caso



I say that life is everywhere on earth, and its derivatives—life-forms or living-forms--are only where creation is possible. There are very few life-forms in the desert but many more in the jungle, because these live-forms evolve to complete themselves through preordained cycles mandated and controlled through their DNA (deoxyribo nucleic acid), with little if any spillage from one life-form to another or from one species to another. The reason for so little spillage has to do with the fact that these life-forms, in their distinctive creation and subsequent evolvement, employ specific types of pre-programmed elimination processes of their own, and it matters little that they may be aquatic or terrestrial, sequoias or homo sapiens.

Think of a male’s ejaculation with only an exiguous percentage of the sperms taking hold while millions and millions are lost or destroyed! Other ways of achieving similar results are through selective procreation or coitus. The Neanderthal did not beget humans regardless of the many missing links found before and after paleontology became a science, and the fact remains that tigers did not then nor do they now have intercourse with leopards. Male rats may rape female guinea pigs and not produce pregnancies. Males on males do not produce progeny, and hermaphrodites are governed by their own laws. Indeed, sperm compatibility’s role controls the birth and the evolvement of living-forms which continue to develop into their various shapes according to how they are impacted by other environmental constructs, including rejection. Weak cubs quickly become prey. Pollination is also governed by similar prescriptive patterns and laws. There is interaction in living-forms but no overlapping, and taxonomists like Aristotle, Linnaeus, Cesalpino, Darwin, Lamarck and many more modern ones, only discover, classify and reclassify living-forms and have been successful in doing only that. Drawing conclusions is a different story, and one can say that Aristotle was right for more than two thousand years and Darwin continues to be right to the present day.

Whereas the biological world cannot exist without chemistry, chemistry stands alone and generates life-forms with the help of conduits such as water. Water dissolves, breaks down and spreads whatever it comes in contact with. Life, therefore, is chemistry (or energy) with the potential of generating life-forms by chance or according to how, where, and when the various parts of chemistry are distributed, re-distributed, or manipulated. Each generated life-form, singly or collectively, has its own span and range of termination and no form ceases by generating another form, including parasites. In cases where this may happen, it is the result of abnormalities doomed to termination or elimination without procreation possibilities or potentialities, i.e. the octopus man, mules, etc.

Mine is a theory of evolvement as opposed to evolution; the former is what we really say when we talk about evolution. We confuse the two because we do not understand the fundamental difference between them. Evolution is a noun without a verb antecedent and is man-made. Evolvement is also a noun but with a verb antecedent and is not man-made. It has been invented as a theory to describe or classify natural processes that may be more complex to the experts than to novices. Evolution was invented and established as a science due to a human need to explain and make sense of things that are incomprehensible, which is what religion does best in its truest form.

We call it evolution because we have not drawn clear distinctions between them much as we have done between life and life or living-forms which are distinct. Man is not a derivate of some other life-form. Monkeys are not derivatives of some other life-forms. Humans are neither derivates of Neanderthal nor of chimps and neither morphed into homo sapiens. When life-forms become extinct, for whatever reason, they stay extinct, and other myriad life-forms miraculously continue to spring up, seemingly without rhyme or reason. This is where God comes in, not to explain Himself through the miracles of Jesus, but to reveal that these living forms cannot be without plan or purpose, and we may never really know that plan or purpose. In view of creation’s enormity, God becomes bigger than we can otherwise conceive and experience.

Because of life (chemistry or energy), living-forms surely are generated in other heavenly bodies throughout the universe depending on the singular amenities present at given times. In their controlled laboratories, human beings continue to create, replicate and duplicate life-forms ad infinitum, and they do it through chemistry. Without it there would be no biology which is represented by living-forms with their variants such as those of human beings. In nature, there’s only creation and evolvement with neither having duplication or replication capabilities, which is done in laboratories—in nature no two snow flakes are alike but in the laboratory, two or more flakes can be alike, much as two cars, and herein lies the role of intelligent design or creationism, which has to do more with man-made evolution than with creation. Darwin continues to have it right: "Generally the term [species] includes the unknown element of a distinct act of creation."

Life came with the earth when the earth formed, in the same way that life goes to other similar bodies that are formed, transformed or destroyed. With the arrival of water and the subsequent settlement of the earth’s surface over periods of time, life-forms appeared and quickly began to implement their designated non-laboratory controlled DNA cycles by evolving, propagating, and dying—first singly and then collectively. That process has never changed, even after discovering that a recently-discovered skull is more than “approximately seven million years old” when it was an integral part of a living-form. Therefore, the following questions may be appropriate:

When, where or how did its generative-determinant sperms emerge from chemistry and evolve through biology into that specific living-form with its particular behavioral patterns?

How long did it last as a chemical-biological species?

And, how and why did it become extinct?

And, did life-forms begin with the formation of our planet earth?

And, is this the time to refer ourselves to God?



AC

Author Adolph Caso, in addition to being Publisher of BrandenBooks, also teaches and serves on the Board of Dante University (Click title for link to Dante University!).